Introduction

For the most part of its traditional periods, the Ottoman Empire had been a “dominant power”, stood
against the West in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries and maintained its state philosophy. Having its
unique government structure and organisation in the stated periods, the Empire interacted with the West
for the first time during the Tulip Era (Ahmet III) and considered having more moderate relations with
Western states.

Since the 18th century, the institutions and social structure of the Ottoman Empire differ from the
establishment and rise periods. In the first place, the conquests stopped, and the superiority of the empire
in civil, legal and technical fields has now passed to European societies due to economic advances, the
discovery of new trade routes, breakthroughs in technical fields and developments in the field of
education. In this century, a Europe that understood the Renaissance and the positive changes it brought,
that added America to itself and expanded its field thanks to geographical discoveries, that started to
create new life styles for itself by getting out of the narrow and rigid frameworks of the scholastic
mentality, came to the fore. In the specified century, the basic policy of the Ottoman State was based on
reclaiming the lost places.

Losing its status as a “dominant power” in the global scene following this period, the Empire embarked
on a quest to attempt to restore its former dominance. Meanwhile, the changes brought about by the
industrial (England), political (France) and philosophical (Germany) revolutions in the West
necessitated an “automatic” restructuring of the West. Addressing this necessity, the West has
supplanted the Ottoman Empire as the “dominant power” in the global scene in the 18th and 19th
centuries. Getting its share from this chain of revolutions (industrially, politically and philosophically),
the Empire, like many other states, strived to become a part of this chain.

This chain of revolutions in the West contributed to the decline and fall of the traditional state models
while conceiving the concept of “the modern state”. This concept, as it was the case for the Ottoman
Empire, improved the “imitative” skills of states that were modernised relatively later. One of the
examples of the said imitation or, in other words, efforts for modernisation in the Ottoman history is the
Tanzimat Edict.

The Tulip Era

The Tulip Era is the period in the history of the Ottoman Empire starting with the signature of the Treaty
of Passarowitz with Austria in 1718 and ending with the mob uprising instigated by Patrona Halil in
1730.

The era corresponds to the reign of Ahmet III, with Nevşehirli Damat İbrahim Pasha acting as the Grand
Vizier. It is also known as a “period of pleasure and indulgence”. The name given to the period comes
from the tulip flowers raised in Istanbul at the time and later becoming a craze in the world. The era is
included in the Period of Decline of the Ottoman Empire. The Tulip Era is also known as the first step
towards Westernisation in the literature.

Many events and conditions are considered to be the genesis of modernisation and the shift towards a
modern state in the Ottoman Empire. The start of the Tulip Era or the signature of the Charter of Alliance
(Sened-i İttifak) are some of the examples.
Selim III and The Nizam-ı Cedid

Sultan Selim III decided that there was no solution other than reform in order to eliminate the reasons
for the defeat and to prevent the dissolution of the country. He sent the scholar Ebu Bekir Ratip Efendi
to Vienna as an ambassador. After staying in Vienna for eight months, Ebu Bekir presented the results
of his research to the sultan in a report.

He asked the statespeople to prepare reports on their reform ideas. The focal point in all of these reports
was military reform. Sultan Selim III established a committee of 10 people and had a 72-article reform
program prepared. There were civil, administrative, commercial, social and political reforms as well as
military reforms in this program.

In 1793, Sultan Selim formed an army of 12,000 people affiliated to the Bostancı Ocağı, which was
responsible for the security of the surroundings of the palace as well as the coast, under the name of
Nizam-ı Cedid (literally meaning New Order) in a modern style. This new training method was also
intended to be applied to the Janissaries but they refused.

By reinforcing the technical classes of the army, new laws were made for humbaracı ocağı (bombardier
and mortar troops), lağımcı ocağı (soldiers who dig tunnels during wars) and topçu ocağı (artilleryman).
Teachers from abroad were brought to military schools.

Sultan Selim turned the shipyard into one capable of making all kinds of warships; he commissioned
irrigation pools. He established a water-powered gunpowder factory. He had the Selimiye and
Humbarahane barracks built, as well as large warehouses on the Üsküdar coast. The sultan worked for
the development of the textile industry. He had extensive knowledge of the art of war. He used to have
foreign books translated and read.

The country was divided into 28 provinces by reforming the administrative division. By sending
instructions to the official offices, it was requested that the demands of the people be followed and
fulfilled quickly. The law also noted that the appointed governors would not be given to people who did
not know about the state administration and had only military power. Unfortunately, the law remained
on paper because the necessary financial and military resources were insufficient to make the law
enforceable and auditable. In this case, it caused the abuse of the law. For example, Mehmet Ali of
Kavala took advantage of this exploitation opportunity. On the other hand, the French Revolution began
to affect the Ottoman Empire, which included many ethnicities, religions, and cultures. In particular,
elites in minorities began to create national identities. Therefore, the decentralization policy increased
instability in distant provinces.

The Ministry of Agriculture was established. Non-Muslim merchants were prevented from acquiring a
foreign nationality, which enabled them to avoid taxes.

Starting from 1793, permanent embassies were established in European states. The Ottoman
ambassadors to Austria, France, England and Prussia sent reports to Istanbul about the culture of the
countries they were in as well as their domestic and foreign politics.

During this period, many compilations and translations of scientific works were written. The white
crescent and star on a red background became the official flag (1793).

Selim III and his modernization efforts in military, political and economic institutions created duality
in every field. Ottomans formed a modern, European-style army alongside a conservative Janissary army
against the reforms. Reforms created a growing monetary economy with the medieval Tımar system.
Alongside the Ottoman madrasas, whose curriculum had not changed for centuries, modern academies
emerged, boasting libraries full of French-language books (Hanioğlu, 2008).

However, the masses, dissatisfied with the reform movements in Istanbul, took action. With the
provocation of some statespeople, naval soldier Kabakçı Mustafa rebelled on May 25, 1807. Sultan
Selim abolished the Nizam-ı Cedid on May 28 so that the rebellion would not grow. However, the
dignitaries who provoked the rebels did not find it enough and encouraged the rebels to demand the
dethronement of the sultan. Kabakçı Mustafa, who was understood to be a professional revolutionist
with ties to Russia, forcibly took a fatwa from the sheikh al-Islam to dethrone Sultan Selim III. The
sultan abdicated.

Sultan Selim III holding an audience in front of the Gate of Felicity. Courtiers are assembled in a strict protocol. Oil on
canvas. Topkapı Sarayı Müzesi, Istanbul

Mahmud II Reforms,
Background of the Tanzimat Edict: The Initiative Role of Mahmud II

The institutions and the social structure in the Ottoman Empire in the classical age saw a dramatic
change in the period from the Peace of Zsitvatorok of 1606 to the Treaty of KuchukKainarji. The
“classical institutions” continued to exist formally in this period, but their functions and content changed
significantly. The Treaty of Kuchuk-Kainarji (Küçük Kaynarca) is the treaty signed between the
Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire, ending the Russo-Turkish War of 1768-1774 and leading to
considerable territorial losses for the Ottoman Empire.

A new era began in Ottoman history when Ahmed left the throne to his nephew, Sultan Mahmud I. After
that, in the Ottoman Empire, which accepted the superiority of the West and followed the developments
in the West closely, important changes were experienced in the military, political, commercial,
economic and cultural fields thanks to the successful policies of Sultan Mahmud I. In this period, an
important recovery process was experienced in the Ottoman Empire.
Therefore, the changes and transformations within the Ottoman Empire in the 19th and 20th centuries
are mostly the results of the developments in the 17th and 18th centuries. In this context, it can be argued
that the foundations of the Tanzimat Edict were formed in two and a half centuries. On the other hand,
the orientation towards the west and the ideas of Westernisation are attributed to the Tulip Era in many
Turkish and other sources. It is stated that the relationships with the West shifted from hostility towards
neighbourliness after the Tulip Era.

The declaration of the Tanzimat Edict, a turning point in the general characteristics of the Ottoman
Empire, was not easy. The acceptance and declaration of such a document took around 250 years for
the Empire. Even though there were many material reforms undertaken in this period, the necessity of
changing intellectual aspects was realised much later.

Furthermore, many material and intellectual reforms were not accepted and not considered to be
legitimate as they were not considered to be suitable for the culture and traditions of the society. In fact,
it is known that Selim III was killed during the revolt following the new attempted military structure
called the New Order (Nizam-ı Cedid).

A poster painted by an unknown artist describes the modern Ottoman Army, which was founded after the abolition of
the Janissary corps in 1826.

The sultan responsible for the sociological infrastructure and the content of the Tanzimat Edict was
Mahmud II. It is known that the Empire was suffering from many “crises” following his accession to
the Ottoman throne. In fact, believing that theses crises would be overcome with modern structures and
organisations, Mahmud II continued on the process halted after Selim III. He started by abolishing the
Guild of Janissaries, revolting against the Empire and, in this context, the central authority at every
opportunity.

When his actions are considered within the framework of the modern state; it is seen that the elements
that are against the indivisibility, continuity and illimitableness of sovereignty, which are the features
of the modern state, are eliminated. From this point of view, it can be argued that during his reign,
Mahmud II endeavoured to form a central government and administration.

After acceding to the throne, Sultan Mahmud II waited for a period of around 15 years (1808-1826) for
the sociological base to become more accommodating to the abolition of the Guild of Janissaries.
Declared “a state of emergency” in 1826 and officially abolished the Guild, showing it as the reason
behind recent military failures, revolts in the Empire and all other negative developments. The Eşkinci
Guild, meetings of which started even before the abolition of the Guild of Janissaries, and then the
Asakir-i Mansure-I Muhammediye (Victorious Soldiers of Muhammad) were established in place of the
Guild, constituting certain efforts to form a “modern state army” under the supervision of the Imperial
Court.

In the process leading to the declaration of the Tanzimat Edict; the problems instigated by Mehmed Ali
Pasha, the governor of Egypt, the 1938 trade agreement titled the Treaty of Balta Limani, the nationalist
movements in the Balkans and the pressures from the Western states sharing the religious beliefs of the
non-Muslim subjects within the Empire were the most effective factors.

Various political, economic, social, and cultural paradigm changes and transformations in Europe led to
some reform efforts in the Ottoman Empire towards the end of the 18th century. The main reason for
the reforms was the defeats in the wars.

The new armies established in the military field caused rebellions by the old and traditional janissaries.
The reforms implemented above exacerbated the existing problems of the empire. The strengthening of
the notables in the regions and the national identity effect of the French Revolution further reduced the
administrative power of the central authority.

The abolition of the Janissary Corps and its replacement with a totally palace-based military order
changed the delicate, centuries-old balance of power within the Ottoman political system. The
Janissaries had become traditional powerhouses with the potential to replace a sultan. Inclined to ally
with the ulama against the judicial institutions and bureaucracy, they created a system of checks and
balances endowed with both power and legitimacy that would oppose and, at times, replace the ruling
order.

With the departure of the Janissaries, the ulema lost their main source of pressure on the judicial and
bureaucratic institutions. With the lacking military support, the ulama began to adopt a much more
conciliatory stance against the new bureaucracy’s pressure for far-reaching reform.

The collapse of the legitimist opposition strengthened the sultan and his administration immeasurably.
After that, until 1908, Ottoman politics was reduced to a game played by two great actors: the Porte
bureaucracy and the Sultan’s palace.

Along with the existing military reforms, economic and political reforms could not adapt to the imperial
system. In particular, cultural and thought differences between the palace bureaucracy and the governed
caused various oppositions and schisms. With the elimination of the Janissaries by Mahmud II, the
foremost authority became more vital, and cultural dilemmas diminished.

Under these historical and sociological conditions, the Ottoman Empire shifted towards the “modern
state” and, ultimately, was obliged to declare the Tanzimat Edict.